# Books you couldn't put down **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 30, 2011, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-couldnt-put-down/590803 "2011-07-30T02:30:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-couldnt-put-down/590803/21 "2011-07-31T01:48:28Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > You can get a ton of free sf/fantasy off of Baen’s free library [[webscriptions.net](http://webscriptions.net)] and you can jack it onto a kindle by downloading it onto your computer and using the USB patchcord just fine. You can get damned near every single ebook format there without DRM. Almost better than that: they have put out CDs in the past (though I wasn’t aware of it)… and the CDs are explicitly labeled as “copy / give away, do not sell”. I have the Cryoburn CD (my brother gave me the book for Christmas)… turns out, the CDs are all available online! > **[BaenCD at the Fifth Imperium](https://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/)** (bad color contrast etc., and the older ones don’t have the books in epub but Calibre is my friend :D). ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-couldnt-put-down/590803/22 "2011-07-31T01:53:25Z")
I couldn’t sleep one night at a hotel so I stayed up all night in the lobby drinking coffee and read [The Fuck-Up](http://www.amazon.com/Fuck-Up-Arthur-Nersesian/dp/0671027638) cover to cover. It was pretty good, like On The Road if Kerouac was an 80’s kid and never left New York. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-couldnt-put-down/590803/23 "2011-07-31T02:50:59Z")
The last book that literally kept me up reading almost all night was “Zodiac,” by, IIRC, William Graysmith. It’s what the movie was based on, but I read it years ago. It’s an excellent true crime book. Joe ---
**Author:** ![JCorre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3da27b/32.png) [@JCorre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCorre)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-couldnt-put-down/590803/24 "2011-07-31T03:09:45Z")
“Budding Prospects” by T.C. Boyle Funniest book I’ve ever read by far. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-couldnt-put-down/590803/25 "2011-07-31T03:17:36Z")
The book I can’t put down is Len Deighton’s _Bomber_. I’ve read it four times, every time the last quarter all in a single time. I agree with the above _To Kill a Mockingbird, In Cold Blood_ and _Harry Potter_. Let’s not let my SO know about Harry Potter, ok? It will be our little secret. 🙂 Len Deighton’s\* Goodbye Mickey Mouse\*, another WWII airplane novel is also gripping. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-couldnt-put-down/590803/26 "2011-07-31T03:43:37Z")
If you’re up for a little pulp, the John Carter of Mars movie is coming up. A good time to read the series. A lot of fun if you can keep your modern expectations reasonably low 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-couldnt-put-down/590803/27 "2011-07-31T03:51:34Z")
Books I’ve read through really quickly: **Lucifer’s Hammer** – i read this in one weekend when it came out in paperback **Lord of the Flies** – read it in one sitting **Bad Science** – just read this **Planet of the Apes** , believe it or not. Much better than the film. lots of others I can’t recall now. I usually zipped through Uncle Cecil’s tomes. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-couldnt-put-down/590803/28 "2011-07-31T10:37:58Z")
_Good Omens_ by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman deserves a permanent home in your Nook, if you don’t have it already. Quite possibly the funniest book in the English language, and very re-readable. I like most of Barbara Hambly’s works, mostly fantasy. Diana Wynne Jones, too, though her endings tend to be weak. Nonfiction…can’t go wrong with _The Art of War_, assuming you get a good translation. You should be able to get it for free. While this was written as advice for military strategy and tactics, it’s also excellent advice for just about any life situation. Someone mentioned Connie Willis. Get _To Say Nothing of the Dog_. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-couldnt-put-down/590803/29 "2011-07-31T11:50:56Z")
Shogun by James Clavell, I read the whole 1200 pages in four days. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-couldnt-put-down/590803/30 "2011-07-31T22:59:12Z")
I’d mention “House of Leaves” as a love-it-or-hate-it thing, and you’ll proabably know within fifty pages which camp you’re in. Unfortunately, I can’t imagine it working as an eBook, the formatting and page structure are integral to the book, and it would be infuriating to read if you couldn’t easily flip between sections. For myself, it’s the most unputdownable book I’ve read in years (Discworld aside, but that’s cheating). ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-couldnt-put-down/590803/31 "2011-07-31T23:21:45Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > Crime and Punishment. Which translation? ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-couldnt-put-down/590803/32 "2011-07-31T23:38:40Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Excluding the first 2 books, I swear that the Harry Potter series really is one of the most engaging and “not put downable” series I’ve read. > > I’d read the first two just for backstory, though. Good Lord, tell me about it. I didn’t even _want_ to read the last few, but I was _addicted._ I would add **One Hundred Years of Solitude.** ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2011, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-couldnt-put-down/590803/33 "2011-07-31T23:38:50Z")
**Point of Impact** by Stephen Hunter. Best pure thriller I’ve ever read. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-couldnt-put-down/590803/34 "2011-08-01T01:43:21Z")
**Under the Skin** , by Michel Faber. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-couldnt-put-down/590803/35 "2011-08-01T01:48:52Z")
**Lonesome Dove** , Larry McMurtry **Mila 18** , Leon Uris **The Winds of War** , Herman Wouk ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-couldnt-put-down/590803/36 "2011-08-01T01:53:36Z")
I read, in one sitting, \*Relic \*a 480 page novel by Douglas J. Preston and Lincoln Child’. I stayed up all night, it was that riveting. They made a stinky film out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-couldnt-put-down/590803/37 "2011-08-01T03:16:24Z")
Arthur C. Clarke’s sf novel _2010: Odyssey Two_ was the first book I stayed up all night reading, it was that good, and that gripping. This was in high school, when I really did need my sleep. Gary Jennings’s historical novel _Aztec_ and George R.R. Martin’s sf satire _Tuf Voyaging_ are both pretty un-put-downable for me, even now, after having read both about a half-dozen times. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-couldnt-put-down/590803/38 "2011-08-01T03:54:19Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > **Bad Science** The Ben Goldacre collection? My unputdownables have been 1984 and I Married A Communist by Phillip Roth. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-couldnt-put-down/590803/39 "2011-08-01T14:19:46Z")
> [@typoink](#): > > Maybe obvious, but The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a good piece of pop-culture mystery pablum. It takes about 75 pages to find it’s legs, but it’s a good page-turner after. My daughter had a great line when she told me I had to read this: “It took me two weeks to get through the first third, and two long nights for the rest”. My stay-up-late books lately have been Young Adult\* fiction: \*\*\*The Hunger Games * * * \*\*\*The Knife of Never Letting Go * * * \*\*\*Yesterday When the War Began * * * All are the first book of a series, but stand up well on their own. And totally engrossed me. Good dialog, well-paced plotting, and great characters that you actually care about. - Disclaimer: I am no longer Young nor an Adult. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-couldnt-put-down/590803/40 "2011-08-01T14:23:43Z")
Andrew Vachss’s first Burke mystery Flood. I literally read it in one sitting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-couldnt-put-down/590803.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-you-couldnt-put-down/590803.md?page=3)